Province opens round the clock safe space in Brandon
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The provincial government is putting up half a million dollars to fund a new safe space in Brandon to help Indigenous women, two-spirit and gender-diverse people at risk of harm escape from violence and abuse. On Thursday morning, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine announced the province will provide $500,000 to support a new 24/7 safe space in the western Manitoba city that is home to approximately 50,000 residents, and is the second largest urban centre in Manitoba. “This new safe space will mean more beds and more space for Indigenous women, two-spirit or gender-diverse people who are unsheltered and at risk of harm, who need help to stabilize their lives,” Fontaine said during a Thursday morning media conference in Brandon. “Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit,...
Register
First Nations chiefs in Manitoba call on Ottawa to address Jordan’s Principle backlog
Canadian Press-First Nations leaders in Manitoba are calling on the federal government to address a backlog in requests for Indigenous children to receive swift access to health care and other services. They say the delay in approval of requests under Jordan’s Principle has resulted in communities paying out of pocket for health, social or educational services that are supported under the principle, putting other important programming at risk. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said the backlog has added financial strain to communities, forcing them to provide essential services with limited resources. “Many First Nations are trying to meet the needs of their families. They are not receiving funding to provide these services. They are currently running deficits,” acting Grand Chief Betsy Kennedy told reporters in Ottawa on Thursday during the...
Register
New Brunswick’s Tories bypassed due diligence for Christian rehab centre: advocate
Canadian Press-New Brunswick’s child, youth and seniors advocate says there was a lack of accountability and due diligence in government funding of a private, faith-based drug rehab centre. In a report published Thursday, Kelly Lamrock expresses concern about “politicized” decision-making by the provincial Regional Development Corporation. His report is titled, “Express Lane: How a Faith-Based Addictions Program Jumped the Queue During a Shortage of Services.” Under the previous Progressive Conservative government, led by Blaine Higgs, the corporation gave $1.5 million in September to a Christian group, Village of Hope, to expand its services in Upper Tracy, about 45 kilometres south of Fredericton. The Regional Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation that plans and implements economic development initiatives. In his report, Lamrock said he was concerned that approval processes varied...
Register
Former cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault tells committee: ‘I am not Indigenous’
Canadian Press-Randy Boissonnault, whose shifting claims to Indigenous identity cost him his job as employment minister, told a House of Commons committee today that he is not Indigenous. Boissonnault was called to testify at the Indigenous and Northern affairs committee after a series of media reports, led by the National Post, raised doubts about his past claims related to his heritage. The Edmonton MP has been described as Indigenous multiple times in communications from the Liberal party, and has referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.” He has since clarified that his adoptive mother and brother are Métis, and he apologized for his shifting claims. At the committee this morning, Boissonnault says he came up with the term “non-status adopted Cree”...
Register
Government introduces ‘enhanced civilian governance’ for RCMP
Having less than 5,000 population, the Town of Claresholm police service is structured under the Provincial Police Service Agreement and will not be required to form a local governance body as required for larger communities, a result of recently proclaimed legislative changes. In a letter to town council introduced at its Nov. 25, meeting, Mike Ellis, deputy premier of Alberta, informed council the Alberta government “is enhancing civilian governance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) by proclaiming sections of the Police Amendment Act, 2022, and creating the Police Governance Regulation and Police Governance (Ministerial) Regulation. “These amendments will ensure communities policed by the RCMP have a voice in setting local and province-wide policing priorities and performance goals by creating municipal and regional policing committees, as well as a Provincial...
Register
Garden River woman sentenced for fraud
By Maggie Kirk Local Journalism Intitiative A former housing manager for Garden River First Nation has been sentenced to two years less a day to be served in the community after pleading guilty to forging documents to fraudulently obtain a bank loan of more than $300,000. House arrest is required for the first 18 months, after which Anne Marie Headrick must abide by a curfew. Headrick pled guilty on Jan. 30, and was supposed to be sentenced May 29, but her pre-sentence and Gladue reports were not received until shortly before her court date. Later delays were due to the Robinson-Huron Treaty settlement, so Headrick could make full restitution. She was sentenced on Dec. 3. Headrick admitted to forging the signatures of nine council members on two documents, enabling her...
Register
Historic images of Native Americans by a Swiss artist find their way back to North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than two dozen historic prints that depict a slice of Native American life and culture on the Upper Missouri River nearly 200 years ago will soon be more accessible to the public thanks to a gift that enabled a North Dakota organization to buy the rare aquatints. The State Historical Society of North Dakota on Wednesday presented four of the 26 aquatints reproduced from 1839 to 1843 from works done by Swiss-born artist Karl Bodmer. He made the artwork during his journey from 1832 to 1834 with Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied across the U.S., as far west as present-day Montana. The Historical Society is reviewing the prints, which for some time had been stored at a San Francisco arthouse, and will develop a plan to...
Register
Diabo, Chiefs hold high-level meetings on Parliament Hill
By Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter With one eye on his own community’s affairs and one eye on what Canada is doing, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo travelled to Ottawa earlier this week to hold high-level meetings on Parliament Hill. On Tuesday, Diabo attended the Iroquois Caucus General Assembly, as well as holding a second meeting in three weeks with Conservative Party shadow Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Jamie Schmale. Diabo said he hopes to leverage that relationship into a meeting with Tory leader Pierre Poilievre at some point in the future. “Yes, I met with him and seeing what’s happening in the polls, I thought it was important, and I’m hoping to meet with Poilievre at some point, too. Just seeing the way it’s going,” Diabo said....
Register
Germany hands over Australian ancestral remains held by museums for over 100 years
BERLIN (AP) — Five sets of ancestral remains from Australia that had been in German museum collections since the 19th century were handed back at a ceremony Thursday that a community representative described as a sad but “very joyful” moment. The restitution is part of ongoing efforts by German museums and authorities to return human remains and cultural artifacts that were taken during colonial times. In this case, three sets of remains that had been in Berlin since 1880 were handed over along with two other sets of remains held in the northwestern German city of Oldenburg. They were received by four representatives of the Ugar Island community, part of the Torres Strait Islands off the northeastern tip of Australia. “These ancestral remains were never meant to be here,” said...
Register
Hawaiian crow that went extinct in the wild decades ago released on Maui
MAKAWAO, Hawaii. (AP) — Five Hawaiian crows on Wednesday were released on Maui for the first time as part of an ongoing effort to return the species to its home, conservationists said. The Hawaiian crows, or alala, were last found on Hawaii’s Big Island, but they went extinct in the wild in 2002, officials with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said in a statement. The birds, described as intelligent and charismatic, are the last survivor of all the Hawaiian crow species. Habitat loss, predation and disease by introduced species are threats, among other factors. “The translocation of alala to Maui is a monumental step forward in conserving the species and a testament to the importance of partnership in reversing biodiversity loss,” said Megan Owen, Ph.D., vice president of conservation...
Register
AFN, mothers call on all parties to support inquiry into policing
Canadian Press-The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling on politicians of all stripes to support a national inquiry into systemic racism in policing and police-related deaths of First Nations people, calling it a human rights issue that requires commitment from all leaders. “For too long, First Nations people have been subjected to colonial police violence in Canada. It’s not acceptable for First Nations people, and I don’t believe this is acceptable to other Canadians either,” Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said with two mothers directly touched by the issue standing behind her. A resolution passed by consensus at a special chiefs assembly Tuesday says despite 20 individual inquiries and commissions into the police and justice system since 1989, the federal government has failed to make substantive changes to...
Register
Chiefs vote for new negotiations on child welfare reforms, inclusion of N.W.T.
Canadian Press-First Nations chiefs agreed to launch new negotiations with Canada over child welfare after voting down a $47.8 billion deal in October. Chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations voted to start talks anew as well as to include Northwest Territories in any new agreements at a special assembly in Ottawa. The $47.8 billion was struck after decades of advocacy and litigation from First Nations and experts, seeking to redress decades of discrimination against First Nations children who were torn from their families and placed in foster care. That was because the child welfare systems on reserves were not funded to provide services that could keep families together. But chiefs said the negotiations on long-term reforms weren’t as transparent as they could have been, and worried the deal didn’t...
Register
Indigenous leaders voice hope and skepticism at COP29
While we are witnessing an ever-escalating cascade of climate disasters, leaders from the world’s most polluting countries were conspicuously absent from COP29, the United Nations’ annual climate conference. Others boycotted the conference because of host country Azerbaijan’s rampant human rights abuses, particularly its ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh last year. Papua New Guinea called the conference “a total waste of time.” Meanwhile, Azerbaijan appointed Elnur Soltanov, the head of its state energy company Socar, as its chief executive to the conference. Soltanov appeared to use the occasion as a forum to cut deals with international petroleum corporations. Nonetheless, there were still over 65,000 registered delegates – making it the second largest in COP’s history. One of those delegates was Chief Wesley Sam from BC’s Ts’il Kaz Koh Nation. The...
Register
Poilievre offers two hours on Monday for Freeland to present fall economic statement
Canadian Press-Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is offering to give up time on an opposition day in the House of Commons to allow Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to present the government’s fall fiscal update. Poilievre says he will allow Freeland two hours to present the fall economic statement on Monday — a day allocated for Conservatives to present their own motions in Parliament. The Conservative leader says he’ll give up that time so the government can tell Canadians whether it kept a promise to cap the federal deficit at $40 billion. The parliamentary budget officer is projecting the government will exceed its own fiscal guardrail, with a deficit of $46.8 billion for the previous fiscal year. “Not only will we co-operate to let her introduce that fall update, we will actually...
Register
‘There is no trust’: Indigenous leaders tell Feds to take action on contamination
By Natasha Bulowski Local Journalism Initiative Northern Indigenous leaders are demanding action from the federal government after Transport Canada failed to inform them about water and soil contamination at a community dock in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. “These things have to be fixed. If not, we will continue to embarrass you all,” Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam told the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on Tuesday. Adam, Fort Chipewyan Métis Nation (FCMN) President Kendrick Cardinal and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) councillor Tammie Tuccaro travelled from their remote community to Ottawa — roughly 4,000 kilometres — to tell MPs their concerns. Adam explained that the community’s efforts earlier this year to get the Transport Canada dock ready for potential wildfire evacuations eventually revealed the wharf, water...
Register
Nova Scotia, still dependent on fossil fuels, drops in rankings for energy efficiency
Canadian Press-A new national study says Nova Scotia’s leadership position in energy efficiency has been overtaken by other provinces, including its closest neighbours. The “Canadian Energy Efficiency Scorecard” has the East Coast province tumbling from second place in in 2022 to fifth this year, while Prince Edward Island is now tied with Quebec for second place, and New Brunswick has moved ahead to fourth spot. British Columbia has retained its rank at first place, based on data gathered between January 2023 and June of this year. The recently released report, produced by Efficiency Canada, bases the rankings on programs and policies that aim to conserve energy in households, cars and buildings, and reduce the use of oil and natural gas. “The key story with Nova Scotia (in this year’s report)...
Register
Deficit the only way Northland can use reserves
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Northland School Division will likely have a larger than expected deficit this school year, but it will allow them to come in line with the government school reserve policy. At the Nov. 22 meeting, Douglas Aird, Northland secretary-treasurer, reported on the 2024-25 budget. Northland will have about $1 million less revenue, Aird told the board, because of having 71 fewer students from the previous year and over 100 less than projected. The division was already planning on having a deficit, the lower revenue will increase this. The extra money will come from reserves. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, said Aird, as the divisions current reserves are higher than the provincial rules. Running a deficit allows the division to bring this closer to...
Register
One woman’s two-year search for her father in the streets of Thunder Bay
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter [This is part three of three] Kim started on Facebook, then called Lac Seul First Nation, the community where she holds membership and where Alex lived until he was seized in the 60’s Scoop as a boy. Her relatives helped marshal the resources of the region’s tribal councils. Searchers descended on the city in short order from Mishkeegogamang, Cat Lake First Nation, Keewaytinook Okimakanak, Red Lake, the Independent First Nation Alliance, and all over Nishnawbe Aski Nation. Once supportive people in Thunder Bay received word that help was needed, they came out, too. The Lawson family was thankful for the support, but the snowfall made the search extremely difficult. Even with so many volunteers, no trace of Alex or a clue of his...
Register
‘They’re sitting ducks:’ More women with disabilities unhoused due to abuse, violence
New data show women with disabilities are more likely to be forced into homelessness because of violence or abuse. The Canadian Human Rights Commission and the federal housing advocate unveiled the findings in a joint statement Tuesday, saying 63 per cent of women with disabilities who experienced homelessness said it was because of violence. By comparison, 54 per cent of women without disabilities said they experienced homelessness because of abuse. Vicky Levack, a spokesperson for the Disability Rights Coalition of Nova Scotia, says the findings are not surprising to her, nor would they be to other people with disabilities. Levack says women with disabilities face a higher risk of abuse or violence, often at the hands of their caregivers, their romantic partners or both. She says few women’s shelters are...
Register
Brantford Police arrest woman in police officer assault
BRANTFORD, ONT- A 39-year-old woman has been arrested after fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle collision and assaulting a female police officer. The Brantford Police Service (BPS) said at about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, a concerned citizen called police after seeing a woman in possession of a handgun flee the scene of an accident. The BPS said the concerned citizen called 911 to report a single motor vehicle collision in the area of Kiwanis Way and Glenwood Drive and saw a woman flee the scene on foot towards a retail plaza on Colborne Street. Officers searched the area, locating and arresting the suspect within a fast-food restaurant at Stanley Street and Darling Street. Police seized a bb gun found in the suspect’s possession. Police said during the...
Register
